Olive Magazine March 2020

A long time ago, when my knees didn’t creak in the cold and I didn’t need to have a five-step night-time skincare routine, I saw in March atop a snowy mountain in France. It was here that I was first referred to (affectionately) as a rosbif. The French nickname for us Brits is thought to have originated in the 19th century and was a tribute to our love of a roast dinner. British cooking has evolved a lot since then but our love for gravy and roast potatoes hasn’t dwindled. So, whether you choose to eat yours in the comfort of your own home or prefer to leave the washing-up to someone else, we’ve got you. Try something new this weekend with our cover star: succulent pork belly with the crispest…

Roast pork with hasselback potatoes 3 HOURS + OPTIONAL OVERNIGHT SALTING | SERVES 6 EASY | GF boneless pork belly 1.75kg, skin well scored in a cross hatch patternsea salt flakesfloury potatoes (such as Maris Piper) 2kg of medium sizedolive oil 2 tbsp, plus extra for the porkbutter a large knobgarlic 1 bulb, broken into clovesthyme a few sprigswhite wine 150ml GREMOLATA curly parsley a small bunch, finely choppedlemon 1, zestedgarlic 1 clove, finely chopped • If you have time to do it, put the pork belly uncovered, skin-side up on a large plate, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and put onto the bottom shelf of the fridge overnight. This will help dry out the skin and give better crackling. • When you are ready to cook, take the pork out of the fridge and leave…

CHOPSTICKS Let little ones loose on a bowl of noodles with the help of these cute easy-to-use chopsticks. £4, kitchenprovisions.co.uk SERVING TRAY Pass around seafood canapés on this marine-inspired bone china tray. £30, carosomerset.com NOTEBOOK Stash in your bag for when recipe inspiration strikes. £16.99, papier.com CASSEROLE A classic piece of kitchen kit gets a spring makeover. £225, Le Creuset TIRAMISU POTS Cornwall-based TiramisUGO creates this classic dessert using a combination of Cornish and Italian produce. £4/120g, available from farm shops across the South West MUG The perfect excuse to hunker down with a hot chocolate. £12, Urban Outfitters WATER BOTTLE Hydrate in style with this durable stainless- steel number. £24, anthropologie.com PESTO This rich, creamy pepper pesto is great tossed with prawns and linguine or used as a topper for baked mushrooms. £2/190g, ocado.com VEGAN CHOCOLATE One of the best vegan chocolates we've tried, smooth hazelnut…

Malaysian prawn and pineapple curry with crispy onions 45 MINUTES | SERVES 4 EASY | LC Pineapples are abundant in Malaysia, and add sweet and sour notes to this savoury curry vegetable oil 2 tbspcoconut milk 400ml tinpineapple 400g, cut into bite-sized pieceskaffir lime leaves 4 (see cook’s notes)raw peeled king prawns 350gfish sauce 1 tbsplime 1, juicedred chilli 1, sliced to serveready-made crispy fried onions to serve (see cook’s notes)cooked jasmine rice to serve PASTE echalion shallot 1, choppedgarlic 6 cloves, choppedginger a thumb-sized piece, choppedlemongrass 2 sticks, choppedred chillies 2, choppedmacadamia nuts a handfulground turmeric 1 tsp • To make the paste, tip all of the ingredients and 50ml of water into a blender or food processor and whizz until completely smooth. • Heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan and tip in…

Dan Toombs (aka The Curry Guy) is a food writer who specialises in recreating classic Indian restaurant dishes. He is the author of four books: The Curry Guy, The Curry Guy Easy, The Curry Guy Veggie and The Curry Guy Light. Chicken tikka masala 2 HOURS | SERVES 2 EASY | LC GF Chicken tikka masala is known for being sweet and creamy. Here, the buttery flavour is achieved by using ground almonds, and just enough sugar makes the masala mildly sweet. Fat-free yogurt makes for an incredibly creamy curry, too. rapeseed oil or coconut oil 1 tbspgarlic and ginger paste 2 tsp (see cook’s notes on p30)ground almonds 2 tbspcoconut flour 2 tbsp (see cook’s notes on p30)mild curry powder 2 tspsweet smoked paprika 1 tsptomato purée 5 tbsplow-calorie base curry sauce 350ml…

Garlic and ginger paste can be bought ready-combined in jars in large supermarkets – or you can make your own by blending equal amounts of garlic and ginger to a purée. The following ingredients can be found online and in Asian supermarkets: coconut flour is coconut that has been fried and milled; kasoori methi (or dried fenugreek leaves); amchoor, or dried mango powder, is used as a citrussy seasoning; dried kashmiri chillies and kashmiri chilli powder have a mild heat that gives food a vivid red colour; red food colouring is commonly used in chicken tikka masala to give it a vibrant red colour; coconut vinegar is made from the sap of coconut tree flowers.…